This summer, a few M2 (Class of 2022) students shared their thoughts on big questions in life. What does fulfillment mean to you? What does living a “good life” mean? Here is a couple of their answers. This will be an ongoing series, as we all struggle with attaining the “good life” and “fulfillment.”
Self-improvement starts with a question, albeit a simple one:
“What am I doing that is right, and what am I doing that is wrong?”
Continue reading “Unconstructive Criticism: A Disaster for Students”
Super Humans. Eradication of genetic diseases. Rich people boosting their kids’ traits, poor people left in the dust. Playing God.
These themes are hashed and rehashed in the great gene editing debate. And they all must be taken into account in what I will attempt to do next, which is to lay out a (beginners version of) a moral framework in which to understand and judge gene editing.
My thesis is this: Continue reading “A Guide to a Gene-Editing Philosophy”
Justin Coogle, M4, Class of 2019
The complicated reality of practicing medicine in today’s day and age
Health care is large and complex. Anyone who has spent one week working in a hospital, no matter the role, would agree to that.Even the layman who attends his annual physical exam or goes to see his doctor for a nasty cough obtains a glimpse of the complicated web we’ve found ourselves in when it comes to delivering care to the patient. Improving health care for our patients should be a universal passion, but health care reform isn’t so simple. If I were a betting man, I’d say no single piece of legislation or sweeping political campaign will fix the rut we’re in. Hot topics like “Should we switch to Single Payer?”, “Medicare for All!”, and “HMOs are the way of the future!” are all things buzzing on the news, because people are frustrated, which is totally fair. I’d like to share some issues that I think get overlooked in the national narrative and are the elements I personally find most disconcerting when it comes to the future of health care reform.
Continue reading “Systemizing Systematic Systems”For those of us not well versed in political double speak, I figured I’d put together a little cheat sheet for translations of common phrases heard in the public sphere. Enjoy.
Continue reading “Political Shorthand”
Allison Briggs, M4, Class of 2019
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” The words read on Sunday came floating back into my mind as I wiped the dried blood off my 10-year-old patient’s foot, ankle, and shin. Her earlier crying had quieted to the occasional sob, and she was laying back on the emergency room gurney. Ten new stitches sat in a row underneath her knee, holding together her cut from the playground. I peeked a glance when I knew she was looking away, unable to stop checking that everything was in place.
Continue reading “Muy Valiente”
Nathan Stacy, M1, Class of 2022
Do any of you feel a little bit…empty in medical school? If you don’t, you should read this anyways. But if so, you are definitely not alone. In fact, you have that in common with a majority of your fellow mid-20’s millennials. Referring to this time as a ‘quarter life crisis’ is no longer tongue-in-cheek. While we are accomplishing tasks, deepening our medical knowledge, and strengthening our resumes, there are many questions that can bubble up under the surface of this busyness: Is all of this worth it? Will it provide me a fulfilling and sustaining life? What do I have outside of medicine?
Continue reading “Community: an Antidote to the Medical School Vacuum”
Justin Coogle, M4, Class of 2019
Justin Coogle is a published writer of the Kingdom Come series.
1 year before the events of Kingdom Come
I MISS MY old school, this new one is too lonely. No one is interested in being friends with me here, it’s probably because I came in late. I used to try to sit with a group of other boys during lunch, but they kept ignoring me. My teacher is really nice, her name is Miss Flora. She says that she is a master gardener and that we are her valuable flowers. I don’t like being called a flower. Flowers get stepped on a lot. The bell is about to ring for recess and my hands are sweaty. I can’t say I want to use the bathroom this time, I just went a few minutes ago. Maybe if I said I was sick? But I don’t look real sick, and I don’t want Miss Flora to think I am a liar. I really don’t want to go to recess. There is no where I can hide from them.
Continue reading “A Friend”
“In examining disease, we gain wisdom about anatomy, physiology, and biology. In examining the person with disease, we gain wisdom about life.”
-Oliver Sacks
“Stefano, I have an odd question for you – are these people that we’re about to help, these Dominicans and Haitians, are they really the same as we are?”
Continue reading “Reflections on The Cantaloupe Knee and Self-Driving Heart Attack”
Med Intima 